Yesterday CUPE Ontario leaders and members marked one year since the horrifying events of October 7, 2023, which saw 1200 people killed in Israel, including eight Canadians. Those events began a catastrophic cycle of attacks, death, and devastation – a year in which tens, perhaps hundreds, of thousands of innocent people have been killed. One year later, over a hundred hostages remain in Hamas’ captivity, while tens of thousands of Palestinians are illegally detained, sometimes for decades, in Israel.
This solemn anniversary is an important opportunity to reaffirm our members’ calls for peace, for a ceasefire, and for adherence to international law.
In late October 2023, CUPE National was the first Canadian union to pass an emergency resolution at a national convention, calling on the Canadian government to demand a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to diplomatic immunity for the state of Israel. The resolution also called on our union to mount an internal educational campaign for members on the complicity of the Canadian state in its support of actions by Israel that violate international law.
Members at CUPE Ontario’s 2024 convention also passed a similar resolution, building on a tradition that stretches back almost 20 years. Our union continues to be among the leading labour voices calling for an end to the war that has now engulfed five countries.
There are those outside the labour movement who urge workers and their unions to “stay in their lane.” Those people, whether in politics, the media, or from the right, want us to believe that the only purpose of a union is bargaining wages and benefits at work. Those of us active in our movement, however, understand the fundamental problem with this line of thought.
Opposition to war is unquestionably a workers’ issue. It’s invariably people from the working classes who are called on to fight in their nation’s or other nations’ interests, even as our tax dollars are used by governments to support corporations that profit from the murder and maiming of other working people. In our movement, we are in solidarity with working people around the globe, and we understand the importance of solidarity with workers in Palestine and Israel as they both call for an end to war.
This past year, Canadian politicians and institutions have failed us at every level. We have a prime minister who refuses to utter the word “genocide,” a public broadcaster that refuses to broadcast the word “Palestine,” and a premier who resorts to smears and name-calling rather than call for a ceasefire.
Canada and the international community have a responsibility to act. There is no military solution to this or any conflict. We must continue to call for Canada to stand on the side of justice and to respect international law.
Those who oppose this demand want our fear to be greater than the power of our solidarity. But we know, and our history shows us, that the power of what we have as workers is much greater. We also know that justice is never simply given to us; we must fight for it.
That’s the reason CUPE Ontario leaders and members have, for the past 12 months, joined tens of thousands across Ontario and millions around the world to demand an end to Israel’s war on Gaza and for peace and justice for the people of Palestine and Israel.
It’s how we know that we must continue to mobilize alongside others in the anti-war movement and to show up in our numbers until a just peace is realized.
